The British Fashion Council has named the 11 designers that will receive
a slice of the 450,000 pound grant as part of its Fashion Trust financial
and mentoring support scheme, which marks the largest donation by the trust
to date.

The British Fashion Council Fashion Trust, which was founded in 2011,
offers the designers mentoring and financial support to promote the art and
business of fashion. As part of the structured mentoring programme in 2017
designers will benefit from legal advice from Taylor Wessing, while Livia
Firth and her team at Eco-Age will be mentoring on sustainability and
industry best practice.

The philanthropic programme is developed in partnership with co-chairs
Tania Fares and Sian Westerman, along with the British Fashion Council, and
the Fashion Trust Advisory Committee.

Tania Fares and Sian Westerman said: “Supporting the development of such
a strong group of designer businesses reflects the core aim of the BFC
Fashion Trust, and is the most rewarding part of the initiative. We are
incredibly proud of what the BFC Fashion Trust, with the help of its
wonderful members and partners, has achieved so far and look forward to
continuing to nurture the incredible pool of talented designers in the
UK.”

Caroline Rush, chief executive officer of the British Fashion Council,
added: “The generosity of the BFC Fashion Trust supporters is always
remarkable, and I am delighted that we are able to support these eleven
deserving designers for the year ahead. By providing financial as well as
mentoring support the BFC Fashion Trust continues to help secure the future
stability of these designer businesses in contributing to our growing
industry.”

Since its inception in 2011 the British Fashion Council Fashion Trust
has awarded over 1.5 million pounds to 33 designer businesses to help with
critical business support such as developing websites, e-commerce platforms
and bricks and mortar stores.